House arrest for Niagara teacher convicted of child pornography offence
A former teacher at a Niagara Falls elementary school has been placed under house arrest and banned from working with children after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
There is no part of society that is in more need of protection than children," Judge Fergus ODonnell told Weston Nesbitt.
The courts and Parliament need to make children safe from threats and predation and part of that is recognizing that anything that normalizes inappropriate sexual engagement with children is completely out of bounds."
Nesbitt, a 40-year-old father of two, was sentenced to six months of house arrest and placed on probation for three years after he pleaded guilty in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Tuesday to a charge of possession of child pornography in written form.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake resident was arrested in October 2021 after a couple contacted Niagara Regional Police to report a disturbing online conversation.
At the time, Nesbitt was a Grade 7 teacher at Forestview Public School.
The offence was not related to his employment.
Court was told the defendant had reached out to the couple via an online classifieds website in early October in regards to arranging a sexual encounter.
During course of a text conversation, the man described a sexual act involving a 16-year-old girl, said Crown attorney Michal Sokolski.
The couple reported the incident to police. The NRP internet child exploitation and technical crimes units launched an investigation.
Police notified District School Board of Niagara of the investigation and the defendant was terminated prior to his arrest.
In an email and letter distributed to parents of Forestview students at the time of his arrest, DSBN superintendent of education Darren VanHooydonk said the teacher was removed from his duties and will not be returning to any DSBN school."
Nesbitt was hired by the board in 2005 and had worked various temporary contracts until 2013 when he started working full time at Forestview.
There was some emptiness, something missing in his life, that caused him to react or act in the way he did," said defence lawyer V.J. Singh.
The disgraced teacher, in court, was also banned from working with, or volunteering with, children.
He will have to reinvent himself," Singh said, referring to the man's future employment opportunities.
Nesbitt's name will appear on the federal sex offender registry for the next 10 years.
Alison Langley is a St. Catharines-based reporter for the Niagara Falls Review. Reach her via email: alison.langley@niagaradailies.com